


a moment of respite

by alchemyfeline



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: M/M, Not Beta Read, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Rated for swearing, im bad at tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemyfeline/pseuds/alchemyfeline
Summary: zuko can't sleep, so he makes tea. sokka joins him.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 142





	a moment of respite

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first atla fic dont be too harsh on me!! i dont think theyre very ooc but idk  
> (rated teen for very mild swearing, theres like three swears)
> 
> i wrote this before i read the comics so thats something to keep in mind ig

Zuko couldn’t sleep. 

The newly appointed Fire Lord, who usually tended to pass out the moment he hit the bed, was lying down, staring blankly at the ceiling above him. Thoughts were running through his head at a rapid rate.

He couldn’t catch a break. Every day since his coronation had been constant stress, passing new legislation, signing treaties, doing paperwork, and he never had a chance to relax. His stress had been building up every day, so it wasn’t the most surprising that it was coming to a head now, leaving him unable to sleep. 

His one solace was his companions. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph were still in the Fire Nation, and although more often than not they were only there to join in on meetings and help out with treaties, it certainly didn’t hurt to have Aang’s encouraging presence, or Sokka’s sarcastic but good-natured remarks around to help him get through the day. Really, just them being there for him was comforting.

Deciding that he wasn’t going to fall asleep anyway, he sat up with an exhausted sigh. He wasn’t prepared for this kind of responsibility, but it wasn’t like there was another option for the throne. So, of course, it had to go to the sixteen-year-old with unresolved childhood trauma.

He hesitated. What was he going to do, exactly?

After a little thinking, he decided to make himself some tea. He had become pretty skilled from the time he worked in Ba Sing Se, although it had been a while since he had made any.

So off he went, leaving his room as quietly as possible. He hoped not to wake anyone, as he assumed everyone in the palace was sleeping at this hour.

He stepped into the kitchen, rooting through the cabinets to find the tea packets. He found a couple of boxes, lighting a small flame in his hand and carefully holding it near them, squinting as he tried to distinguish the words on the packages.

“Let’s see, green tea, oolong.. there we go, jasmine.” He picked up the package, setting it on the counter as he turned to look around for a candle. He found one in the corner of the kitchen, and carefully lit the wick, letting the flame in his hand die out as he picked up the candle. 

Moving the candle onto the counter near the teapot, he went to make the tea, quietly humming something as he did so. 

After a few minutes, the water was boiling, judging by the whistling sound coming from the pot, and as he moved to pick it up he was startled by a familiar voice from the edge of the kitchen.

“I gotta say, never pegged you as the ‘humming while you work’ type.” 

Zuko whipped around, tongues of flame instinctively spouting from his hands as his muscles tensed. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was just Sokka, leaning against the kitchen door frame with a small smile on his face, and he let out a sigh, his firebending going out as he leaned back against the counter, pinching the temple of his forehead with an exasperated sigh.

“Can you please just announce yourself next time you sneak up on me? Say ‘hi’, maybe?” He snapped. There was a slight hesitation before he added, “How long have you been standing there, anyway?”

“It’s more fun to sneak up on you. Seeing the big, strong Fire Lord Zuko get all scared just because I startled him is pretty funny. And to answer your second question, I don’t know, a minute or two?”

“That’s.. creepy.” “It’s not that- okay, yeah, now that I think about it it’s kind of creepy.”

Zuko rolled his eyes, turning back to the counter and pouring the water into his cup, placing the teabag in. He heard Sokka walk into the kitchen, leaning against the counter maybe a foot away from him. 

“Making tea,” He commented. It was less of a question and more of an observation, but the Fire Lord still nodded in response. “Do you want some?”

Sokka considered it for a few moments, then shrugged. “Sure.”

“Alright.” Zuko put out another cup, pouring some of the remaining water into another cup and taking out another teabag. As he did so, Sokka asked, “What are you doing up this late, anyway?” 

Zuko snorted. “I could ask the same of you.” “I asked first.” “That’s.. fair, actually. I don’t know, I’m just.. stressed. Transitioning into being Fire Lord has been tough. Just seems like there’s a lot going on, all the time, and I can’t find time for myself.”

Sokka tipped his head a little to the side, a concerned look on his face. “Man, I hadn’t even thought of that. Must be tough to try and lead a nation at sixteen, huh?”

Zuko gave him a look. “What gave you that idea?” He asked in a sarcastic tone. 

“Sorry,” replied Sokka, looking a little guilty.

Zuko looked to the tea, lifting his cup and sniffing it. “Should be done steeping,” He stated, taking the bag out and throwing it away, then doing the same with Sokka’s. He moved the teapot off the stove and put out the flame.

The nonbender took his cup and smelled it. “Smells nice.” Zuko gave him a curious look. “I get the feeling you don’t really drink tea.” “I don’t. They don’t really make it in the South Pole. Plus, I didn’t really have a chance to try any on our adventures. You know, too busy fighting the Fire Nation and all that.” 

“Makes sense,” Zuko mused, lifting the drink to his lips and taking a sip. Sokka eyed his tea cautiously before doing the same. He paused, processing it.

“This is good!” He said suddenly, startling Zuko a little. He couldn’t help but feel a little offended that he sounded surprised. Sokka frowned a little, before adding, “I burnt my tongue.”

“That happens when you’re not careful.” He paused for a few moments to take another sip. Sokka, after hesitating slightly, suggested, “Hey, how about we head over to the balcony in my room? It’s a little more comfortable to hang out there than in the kitchen.”

“That would be nice,” Zuko replied with a smile. He followed Sokka through his temporary bedroom out onto the balcony, holding his hand over his cup so as to make sure he didn’t spill any of the tea. 

The railing happened to be relatively flat, so he set his tea off to the side where he couldn’t be able to knock it over with his elbow or something. Sokka took a long sip of his before doing the same.

“So.. do you want to talk about it? The whole ‘leading a nation’ thing? Or do you just want to avoid bringing it up again?”

Zuko sighed. “I might as well get it off my chest.” He took a few moments before starting. “I’m not even sure where to start. It’s just.. I don’t know. Ever since I’ve become Fire Lord, it feels like my life has been nothing but stress, all the fucking time. Excuse the profanity.”

“Trust me, I honestly do not care. Swear as much as you want, bud.”

“Thanks. It’s just... a lot to deal with. With all the paperwork, peace treaties, meetings with the counsel- although, the meetings are alright since you guys are there, but that’s beside the point- and I feel like I haven’t had any chance to live my life, you know? I feel like I’m never going to get the chance to just... be a teenager.”

“I get that,” Sokka nodded a few times, “I think.. I think all five of us understand that feeling. Hell, almost everyone who grew up during the war probably does. I mean, our experiences are all different, but the same basis- our lives were ruined from a young age by the war. We’ll never get the chance to be normal teens, no one has in a long time.”

“Yeah. That sounds about right.”

“And now that the war’s over, we’re not sure what to do. It’s been going on for our whole lives, and now it’s just.. over? It’s great, yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact it just feels.. wrong. It’s so different from what we’ve grown up with. We’ve always been in fear; not constantly being in fear is.. odd.” 

“Exactly. And then having the responsibility of running the Fire Nation on top of that… It’s nerve-wracking, to say the least.” He shook his head, turning slightly to look at Sokka and giving him an awkward smile. “Thank you, Sokka. For.. being here. It feels nice to talk to someone about what I’m going through. And it.. it helps, being reminded that I’m not the only one going through this shit.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Sokka chuckled softly, “I’m your friend. Comforting you is kind of my job.”

“No, it’s not,” Zuko shook his head, “You’re never.. you never have to comfort me. But you do. And I really, really appreciate it.” 

“If that’s how you want to see it. Besides, it’s not like I don’t like the praise.” The firebender laughed in response. There were a few moments of quiet, where he just gazed into Sokka’s eyes- spirits, when did his eyes get so pretty?- before looking away, clearing his throat. 

“I forgot to ask,” He said, suddenly remembering something from when the two of them were speaking earlier (and definitely not trying to make things less awkward at all), “Why were you up, anyway?”

“Oh. Well, uh..” Sokka scratched the back of his neck, before saying somewhat sheepishly, “I sort of.. had a nightmare? It wasn’t anything serious, it was kind of dumb, but it sort of put me on edge, so I wanted to talk to someone. I didn’t wanna wake anyone up, so I just wandered around, hoping someone would be up. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping you, specifically, were awake.”

Zuko couldn’t help a slight blush from creeping up his face. “Well. If it counts for anything, I’m glad you were awake.” 

“I would say me too, but I’d be repeating myself.” Sokka shifted a bit closer to the firebender, their shoulders brushing, hesitating for a few moments before resting his hand over his. 

Zuko flinched a little from the contact, and Sokka was almost about to pull away when the Fire Lord shifted his hand, intertwining their fingers as he relaxed. The Water Tribe boy tilted his head a little as he gave him a soft smile. 

“It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” Sokka murmured, a gentle fondness in his voice.

“Yeah,” Zuko said softly, gazing into the other teen’s cheerful blue eyes and stifling his desire to lean forward and kiss him, “Yeah, it is.”


End file.
